


"Hey, remember those dumbasses who fought over a DESK?"

by Eyemoonx657



Category: DCU (Comics), Green Lantern - All Media Types, Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Coffee Shops, Humor, M/M, Secret Crush
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-12
Updated: 2019-07-12
Packaged: 2020-06-26 08:59:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,581
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19764889
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eyemoonx657/pseuds/Eyemoonx657
Summary: He thought once high school was over it'd be fine, that embarrassing warmth in his chest would finally fizzle out and he'd be free to go on and never develop feelings for anyone again, because feelings are the worst. And maybe if it wasn't because of their shared friends, the fact that they got accepted in the same university, and a downfall obsession called social media, he could've buried Kyle in his high school memory.The gist of it; there was a desk, they both wanted it, none of them got it.





	"Hey, remember those dumbasses who fought over a DESK?"

"In brightest day in blackest night, no evil shall escape my sight. Let our enemies who follow evil's might beware my powers . . . The amazing Green Pen! "

There's a whole 15 seconds of silence as he waits for Jason's reaction to come. Honestly, he wouldn't be surprised if Jason spat in laughter and straightforward called it bullshit. It's, what, his seventh effort to write a heroic oath for the superheroes in the universe he created, or as Jason likes to refer to it _"Screwed up song for fucked up shits who instead of a toilet float in the air."_ Real motivational and supportive that guy. You don't say that kind of stuff to your sworn enemies much less your kindergartener friend.

But the thing is, it's the _seventh_ time, and that means it's gotta be the charm, or at least that's what he assumed 15 seconds ago.

"Well? "

The look on Jason's face though, makes him want to jump from the nearest building and say farewell to the world where he's been nothing but a useless freelance artist who was into weird Japanese shit. Yeah, he's got that look right now, the one with unimpressed features and a cold stare.

Finally, Jason raises an eyebrow and opens his mouth. "Y'know what Rayner, I like this one. "

Kyle stills. Oh shit, they weren't kidding about seventh time being the charm, because, WHAT?

He leans over on the table, "for real? "

Jason takes a sip from his cup of, _black like my soul,_ coffee and gives a nod. "Sure. But, "

Kyle leans in further. "But?"

"There's just something not adding up to it . . . "

"What?" Holly shit! He finally made it! He's not dreaming.

"Uh, " Jason puts the cup on the table, seeming in thoughts, "what was the last thing you said? "

Kyle decides, seven's officially his lucky number.

"The amazing Green Pen. "

"Right. Make it Glittery Green pen and you're good to go."

Kyle's face falls. "What the __ that sounds stupid. "

"Exactly. Looks like that's what you've been trying to do here all along, and I _just_ figured it out and thought to myself 'hey, if it's stupid he's after, I may as well give it__"

"Oh shut up, Jay, " Kyle makes sure to punch his shoulder hard enough to make it sting which only serves to make Jason laugh out loud. "You bastard. Least you could've pretended to care if you were going to tease me. " He tries to scowl, like, he seriously puts effort into it, but hearing the sound of Jason's laughter takes away a good chunk of his willpower.

Which sucks, for him that is.

"Oh, _oh,_ you're right, " he straightens up his composure, "the amazing Green Crayon's even better. "

Kyle narrows his eyes at him, "I hate you so much, you know. "

Jason's lips twist up to form a foxy grin. That bastard.

Kyle takes a furious sip from his own cup before going back over his sketchbook, and doesn't even bother to hide the obvious wince at the horrible taste. He still doesn't earn much to be splurging money on something a bit fancier like Starbucks; and besides, it's the only coffee shop he gets to meet Jason as that jerk seems to enjoy those godawful drinks, so.

He's stuck there with an asshole of a friend, burned coffee, sketches of superheroes in green spandex on the table, his skateboard as his means of transportation, and lots of angry erasing.

He doesn't know how long it passes before he hears Jason's voice again, but when he does it's enough to cease the furious erasing that shook the table for a split of a second.

"I liked the rhythm, though, " Jason says.

Kyle doesn't bring his head up to meet his eyes, half scared he'd see the teasing grin on Jason's lips and start erasing even angrier. So he mumbles, "and I still hate you. "

He hears Jason chuckling. Calm, rare, and quick to be over.

~~~~~

_They both probably have extremely different views on how it all went down, but one thing's clear; there was a desk, they both wanted it, and neither was willing to give up. So, there was a lot of shouting, their classmates cheering them from behind, and a poor teacher trying to separate them before they clawed each other's eye out._

_Yeah, well, they were in sixth grade and too thick_headed for their own good, sure, but for anyone who would spare a moment to listen Kyle had a fair amount of reasonable justification for_ why _that particular desk was worth fighting for._

 _It was_ the desk, _you know. Good spot right next to the window, a total blind-spot for the teacher, and it had a good neighborhood as most of the good kids were surrounding it. THE perfect seat._

_Jason didn't even bother to argue more than, "I was here first. "_

_"Well, I saw it first! "_ which means I chose it, I imprinted on it, it's mine, get lost, get away from my desk.

_But has it happened to you that you hate something so much you want them to cease existing for once, instead, you see them everywhere as if the universe was trying to punish you for wishing for something like that?_

_Well, Kyle just had to be one of those few unfortunate souls who made the wrong wish, and as of cue everywhere he looked there was that boy with bright eyes with a pout for lips and scowl for brows. Jason in his history class, Jason as his lab_partner, Jason as his teammate in soccer, Jason in that park he liked skateboarding, Jason in the fucking Walmart, at his lunch table, Jason EVERYWHERE._

_Just hate something hard enough to watch them pop out of the universe's ass. (And long enough to take after their shinning usage of language)_

_And it was through some miraculous circumstances that they seemed to share many common friends. Mostly, it was thanks to Dick, his older brother with bright smiles and a brighter personality to match it that Jason got to know so many people._

_But if it wasn't for Wally's obvious to the world (even blind people) crush on Dick, he could've possibly avoided half of those encounters with Jason, and suffer in silent when hearing someone asking shit like, "Why the hell do they bicker all the time? "_

_That's how it always starts. "There was a desk . . . "_

_Which neither of them got to have in the end.  
_

~~~~~

"Say, Jay. Listen to this one. "

Jason sighs and _very_ reluctantly puts his book down to raise an eyebrow at Kyle.

Kyle's eyes though, they seem to sparkle a bit like those shits you only see in a child who has ice cream for dinner. Jason almost feels sorry for turning that enthusiasm down. _Almost._

"In brightest day, through blackest night, no other corps shall spread its light! Let those who try to stop what's right burn like my power, Green Light! "Kyle read through his notebook as dramatically as he could manage while trying to surpass his excitement to deliver the significance of that oath. He genuinely tries, Jason _almost_ doesn't want to throw a jab, huh.

Kyle turns his waiting eyes on him, expecting, focused on him. Does he really keep Jason's opinion in that high regard? Man, that dude sure knows how to make Jason feel guilty to his bones.

"Not bad, "he replies honestly, "but I still liked the rhythm of the last one better. "

Kyle opens his mouth but doesn't say anything and looks drown on his notebook again, frowning a bit. Jason can see the dots connecting in that thick head of his.

"The Green Light's a good change, though, " he adds, "still weird to say out loud, but definitely better. " He turns back on his book, and says in a lower tune. "You didn't hear that from me. "

Kyle doesn't respond though. He tabs his pen on the notebook before him and keeps frowning. "You're right," he nods, "I feel like it's missing something, but I can't wrap my head around it. "

After a moment of silent Kyle grabs his phone, slides it open and starts typing something real fast, his lips slowly twist upward as he does.

"Quit fucking around and you may as well use that wood_for_brain of yours, " Jason says.

Kyle's grin only widens. "Yeah, yeah. "

Jason narrows his eyes at him. "Who're you texting so eagerly? "

"Oh, it's Dick, " he locks his phone and puts it back on the table, leans his arms on it all the while wearing that shit_eating grin of his. "Just letting him know his lit wing's being useful for once. I bet he'd be proud. "

Jason growls and swats Kyle's thighs, _serves you right, you asshole,_ and Kyle yelps mid_laughing, drawing probably reflective _shh_ from both girls standing behind the counter.

"Fucking hate you so much, " he mutters, and goes back to his book.

Kyle apologies to the girls and sighs in contentment before lying his arm on the table, resting his head on it.

"You finally dead? "

Kyle snorts quietly. "Dream on. Just wanna clear my mind for a minute. "

Kyle's eyes are closed, there's a very subtle smile on his lips. He seems satisfied with himself today.

His dark hair is mussed up from unconsciously running his hands through it so much. Jason stares at it for too long, long enough for his fingers to start itching to, what, straighten it, tug at it hard enough to make it hurt, ruffle it, just get a rise out of him?

The texts in his book has never been so uninteresting until the moment Kyle got up.

~~~~~

_Jason can list the reasons why he shouldn't be at that coffee shop. For one, their coffee sucks, and second of all, he fucking HATES coffee to begin with._

_So how did he end up there? Well, it was the nearest coffee shop to his campus, and he was pretty sure he wouldn't find anyone he knew there, and most importantly of all._

_"Because we're open 24 hours, " Stephanie chants as she puts his order on the table._

_"Yay, lucky me. "_

_Stephanie just ignores him and asks, "so, how's the old man holding up? " How the hell she manages to sound so energetic at 2AM is a mystery to him._

_"He's alright, " he reaches for the mess of papers before him that were once upon a time the cleanest chemistry notes you could find on campus for about, five minutes ago._

_"How about Timmy? "_

_"Who? " He looks up in time to catch her rolling her eyes._

_"Oh, you're playing that game, huh? Okay, mister ignore a human being because you have banana milkshake for guts which tells you 'you should ignore that particular human being', I'll leave you to your evil twisted plans. "_

_"Yeah, wish me luck, " he says without looking up from his notes, "trying to calculate the amount of garlic I can sneak in his coffee without him realizing. "_

_That earns a laughter out of her as she pats him on the shoulder twice, "you're the_ devil, _Jason, I swear. "_

_He grins, "you flatter me. "_

_Stephanie goes back to her job and he digs into the texts on the table. It goes like this for 30 minutes until the door of the cafe swings open._

_The guy who just entered fist pumps with the new waitress, Jade, tugging his__ is that a fucking skateboard?__ under his arm. Jason just glares at the intruder who_ loudly _chats with Jade, not giving a shit it's 2:30AM._

_But that was probably not his most brilliant idea ever, because as soon as the guy's eyes fall on on him, recognition clicks._

_kyle goddamn Rayner, because Jason would be able to tell the owner of that lame skateboard all the way to hell itself and back.  
_

_Jason abruptly turns back to his notes and prays to anyone up there Kyle would just pretend he doesn't know him and leave them all at peace. But_ nope. _No one seems to give two shits about him that day, not Kyle, not even the guy up there._

_"Whoa, dude, didn't think I'd ever see you again! Not here for sure. " He has the nerves to sit on the chair before him, put his beaten up skateboard beside his feet before taking his dumb beanie off and ruffling his hair, like, what the actual fuck is that guy doing?_

_Jason raises an eyebrow at him, "are you always this friendly with strangers? "_

_Kyle makes a show of rolling his eyes, "nice to see you, Jay. I've missed you, too. "_

_He feels a rush of warmth, of anxiety, of embarrassment, all coiled together in a fluttering that spread all through his veins and leaves him fidgeting, because how could he possibly throw a smartass respond to that without losing his shit?_

_"Crystal. Can't say the feeling's mutual though, " that's the best he could come up with._

_"Unbelievable, " Kyle folds his arms on the table, unfazed by Jason's cold stare, "made it college and yet to leave that sass of yours behind. "_

_"Pot tells kettle to fuck off. I'm not the one who couldn't get over his high school days, " he points to the skateboard on the floor._

_"Yeah, I'm totally informed how_ uncool _that is, " Kyle shrugs, "but, I'm the guy who skates, y'know. "_

_"And how's that helping anything? "_

_"It's a hot topic. I mean, we're talking, right? " he smiles._

_Jason gives him a blank look, "you realize I literally can't stand you, right? "_

_Kyle chuckles and nods, "yeah, I'm aware. But I wouldn't've been here if I could help it. All the seats are taken, it's exam time for most students. Hate to state the obvious, but you gotta roll with it, " he takes out his sketchbook and pencil case. "Why're_ you _here anyway? Don't you guys have a mansion or something? "_

_Jason chews on the inside of his lips, "it's gotten pretty loud. " Which is an honest answer._

_Kyle huffs in amusement and turns his attention on the open page in front of him, "can't imagine why. "_

_Not a single word exchanges between them for the longest hour. Jason's surprised, he's done more work in that hour alone than he ever did quietly in a library in a comfortable spot with bigger table to spread his shits on and tastier drinks to keep him awake._

_Sure, Kyle is annoying, Jason hates the guy, they can't possibly say hi without throwing an insult at each other, but Jason prefers his company to strangers. He prefers Kyle's company to anyone actually, always has and apparently still does. The realization should've embarrassed him, anyone who remotely knows him would've expected something like that too, but strangely enough, he finds nothing._

_Kyle stretches his arms above his head and sighs. "Weird, huh? " Jason brings his head up to meet his green eyes. Kyle goes on, "we finally agreed on sharing a desk. Wasn't so hard now, was it? "_

_And because he's Jason, he has to do it. "You're basically intruding my space, " he says flatly._

_"Didn't hear a complain." Kyle starts putting his stuff back on his backpack._

_"Not a lot of space for that either. "_

_Kyle snorts. "Good one, " he says, as if Jason was trying for a stupid pun. Who is he? Dick Grayson?_

_Kyle grabs that shitty skateboard of his and stands. "So, you come here often? "_

_It feels like that question is the opening Jason has been waiting for, but against his better judgment he says, "what of it? " Not exactly an invitation, but not a rejection either._

_There's a small smile on Kyle's lips as he walks backwards, "nothing. "  
_

~~~~~

"Hey, I just followed you on Instagram. "

Jason's head snaps up to give him a look, "what? "

He shrugs. "Didn't think I'd find you there since you're such a jerk who always bitch about social media." Jason's scowl deepens, he's obviously annoyed at something related to his phone, so Kyle takes his sweet time to stroll over some more pictures while he's at it.

"The hell are you talking about?" Jason demands. He sounds so irritated, god Kyle was _so_ right.

"Aren't you 'ToddJaybird22'? Look," he holds his phone up for Jason to see the profile only for the guy to snatch it and glare venomously to the screen.

Kyle coughs lazily to hide his laughter as he watches with delight how Jason's cheeks turn red, _aw that's so cute,_ because what else can he do? It's not like he's going to let Jason know he's been possessively looking through the glorious_looking selfies of Jason freaking Todd and his random shit for a while; a long time actually, long enough for Jason to look into restraining orders if he ever found out.

And it was Jason who sent a request, first to his Facebook and now his Instagram. It was Jason who suggested exchanging numbers, Jason who sent his playlist to Kyle when he realized Kyle liked listening to music while doodling, who offered to help him in philosophy and made it seem like an insult; that angry boy who laughed at his horrible dad jokes (or as far as laughter translates in Jason's vocabulary, which isn't more than an amused expression along with a _"Rayner, I'll look the other way if I see you on campus, you stupid nerd.")_

So, who could blame him for freaking out when he received a notification that _YES_ , mister billionaire's son has requested to be part of Kyle Rayner's boring life. What kind of a dumbass would deny himself relieve from the constant torture of e_stalking his friend/crush/whatever is that irritating warmth that has shifted from his chest lower and lower and lower until he's left feeling like a boiled potato___

"I'm gonna kill that bastard," Jason murmurs, glaring to kill whoever's on the screen.

"Who? "

"Roy! " he shows him the first few rows of the selfies. (like Kyle hadn't spent more than a couple of times drooling over just how _handsome_ that dude is for over two weeks) "That dick_face, how did he even create that account without me knowing? He doesn't know my fucking email. "

"He probably created a new one and used your contact number, " he shrugs.

Jason suddenly stops to look at him and asks, "he can do that? "

Kyle blinks a few times, "Jay, you're a dinosaur. "

~~~~~

_As if they didn't fight over everything, literally even weather, the universe had to poke more at their fragile relationship by throwing Donna_the super hot new girl with a black belt in Karate_Troy at them._

_Kyle's not sure when exactly the jittery feeling in his stomach happened every time she passed him by, but one thing he never forgets is the moment he caught Jason Todd of all people flirting with her near the wending machine in their high school hallway._

_He stopped on his trek before turning on the corner and meeting the girl of his dreams and the boy with too many issues talking to each other; he listened to Jason's lame excuse of a flirt with distasteful obligatory, even sneaked a glance since he figured he's already pass the territory of being a creep._

_Donna was leaning her back against the wall while Jason had his arm rested on the wending machine, not exactly leaning toward her, but definitely not much of a friendly_leaning_closer thing either. Donna was still taller than him, almost as tall as Kyle himself. Huh, that kid had so much to catch up to._

_But soon none of it mattered as Jason gave her a playful smirk, reached a hand forward to tug her hair behind her ears while Donna stayed still through it all, returning his smirk as if knowing before._

_Kyle remembers that moment precisely. Jason's jacket, his (probably worth more than Kyle's kidney) watch, his green shirt that brought out the blue_green sparkle of mischief in his eyes, his pale skin, Donna's long silky hair, her posture, Jason's grin which was directed toward her, that hidden confidence he never revealed to anyone, those bold words._

_The way Kyle's own poor heart came right out of his mouth at that sight . . ._

_Like, what's that guy's deal? He clearly knew of his crush on Donna! That's why he's here, isn't it? Ugh, he HATES that guy so much. What the hell did he want? He had the looks, money, brain, muscles, a shitty taste for classic shit, a good family, nice friends . . . what__ he literally had it all! Why did he have to point his finger to_ exactly _what Kyle wanted?_

_Since when is Jason this cocky? If he was only half this proud of himself before he surely would've made a decent opponent for Dick___

_Jason's eyes fall on him and he had only a second to bolt out of the hallway before Donna turned her head around too. Kyle runs like his life depends on it, he keeps running until he nearly trip over and fall on his nose.  
_

_His lungs are burning, but so were Jason's eyes, burning him from the inside far hotter than any lack of oxygen could. He shakes his head. No, no way he'd let Jason focus those shit_looking stare on her, nah uh. Kyle is the one who'll be giving her that attention._

_so he decides to ask her out the first chance he gets, which doesn't include much luck as Jason_ just _happened to be sitting next to her on the lunch table._

_"Hey Donna. Do you wanna go for coffee or something sometimes? "_

_"Sure__"_

_Jason interrupts, "I was gonna ask her out first, you loser."_

_"You're a bit late for the party, jerk. " He bites back._

_Donna tries, "Wait, guys__"_

_"What are you, four? It's not a fucking desk, Rayner. Fuck off. "_

_"As I recall, I'm not the kid who argued 'I was here first' over a_ desk. "

 _And here they go bickering like elementary boys over who gets to take the pretty girl out, and that's where they both messed up. Not even 30 seconds to through their argument when Donna smacks them both on the head at the same time and growls "Don't give me this shit on a Monday, " before leaving their sorry asses gaping at_ 'What just happened? '

_To no one's surprise and a few dollars being traded back and forth through bets of who'd get the girl, none of them got the girl._

_While recalling Jason's burning eyes years later, Kyle can't help but wonder if he turned red out of jealousy or something else entirely; because he's not gay, he swears._

~~~~~

"Man, this shit's gross, " Jason grumbles after taking a shot. He fucking hates Vodka.

Roy puts his arm around his shoulder. "It's enough to get you pumped up, " his breath doesn't even compare to the thick spice of his cologne. "You need to get your ass on the dance floor, bro. "

Jason groans and pushes his friend's face away from his nose. Roy was determined to give Jason a blast that night (Which he didn't ask for); so, as much as Roy tried to convince him he needed to get laid, he managed to convince Roy that he didn't want to.

"I'm not the one who showered in perfume screaming I wanna get some, you ginger polecat. "

He loves his friends, he really does even if he _never_ admits that to their faces, but he's not there by choice. He's got a big ass of an assignment and while there is no rush to finish it, he can't find the inspiration on what exactly to write about. And so, he'd rather be at home, or in his usual booth in that cafe with Kyle than bear with another head_drilling remix and a booze that'll surely give him a horrible headache in the morning.

There're a few times when some random girls or dudes come by, trying to coax a conversation out of him, if generous enough buy him a drink, ask him to dance with them (yeah good luck with that) but it was only a matter of time before Jason got bored of guessing the current red_haired Dick was dancing with (there's Babs, Wally, Roy, Kori, he even spotted Artemis. Man, Dick must be in heaven right now) and left the club.

Before he knew it, he found himself bringing his phone next to his ears, listening as Rayner excitedly rambles, _"hey, Jason! Dude, I've just found the PERFECT oath. You_ gotta _hear it now. It's insane. "_

Jason snorts and shrinks lower on the cushion, _insane? You should've seen the look on the taxi driver's face when I told him I'm headed for the Wayne manor. It's hilarious, man. It never gets old,_ and says, "go on. "

He hears Kyle clearing his throat (oh, he's going for the dramatic effect? Yeah, frigging cute), _"In forest deep where darkness dwells, in dungeons beneath ancient fells. Let those who seek to rule the night, beware my power, the Emerald light! "_

There's silence, long enough for Kyle to get nervous. Jason can literally feel how he's holding his breath.

"Kyle, you're getting far, _far_ away from it. "

There's a groan on the other line. _"Man, I was SO sure it was gonna be_ it. "

"Try harder next time. "

 _"I dunno, I mean . . . "_ he sighs, _"maybe I'm just not cut out for it. "_

"Shut up, " and Jason blames it on the disgusting Vodka that's messing with his head, but he says it anyway. "You may suck big time, but you're also good."

_"Uh . . . "_

"Don't give up. You're gonna fucking make it, " he nods a few times as if Kyle can see him.

There's a pause before Kyle's uncertain voice reaches his ears. _"Thanks? Uh, are you okay? You don't__"_

"I mean it, " he interrupts.

 _"Now I'm worried. You drunk or something?"_ He _actually_ sounds fucking worried, god kill him right now!

"I dunno, " he closes his eyes and sighs, "must be. "

_"Oh uh, am I, like, intruding or something? "_

"Nah, I ditched the guys. Didn't feel generous enough to let anyone touch my ass tonight. "

Kyle laughs, and maybe it's his drunk mind playing sick games with him, but somehow, he feels like he just made Kyle blush like a tomato soup; he's drinking up the sole idea of that shit like. . . whoa, he's so drunk. Damn Roy and his persuasive superpower.

They keep talking for the rest of the ride, even after he arrives home, through the long walk to his room, when he kicks his shoes off and falls with his back on the bed, they keep it going. It's mostly Kyle rambling and Jason listening though.

Kyle talks about the progress in his work and the stuff he added to his little universe. _"The emerald world is basically the heroes' afterlife, 'cause it'd only be fair for the ones who're willing to sacrifice their lives for a good deed to find salvation."_

And when Jason thinks it over, something clicks in his head.

"You're a genius, Rayner, " his own voice sounds unimpressed to his ears though. "I just found what I was looking for. "

Kyle chuckles, _"And what's that?"_

"I know what I'mma write for that assignment, " afterlife, fucking brilliant. "Ugh, it was such a pain in the ass to come up with."

 _"Glad to be of service, "_ he sounds proud of himself, Jason wants so badly to wipe that shit off of his tune, but he ends up humming in agreement instead. Apparently, his willpower battery is going down, he can't get shits done.

 _"Y'know,"_ Kyle says, _"you're actually less of a jerk when you're drunk."_

"Fuck you. "

_"I think you're more tolerable this way. I like this side of you."_

"Yeah, yeah. I like you, too. "

_"WHAT? "_

"What? "

_"What?  
_

". . . "

 _"What did you just say? "_ Kyle suddenly sounds so much more awake than he did 10 seconds ago.

"Uh . . . "

Because Jason's drunk mind takes a little longer to keep up, but WHEN IT FUCKING DOES, "oh uh, Alfred's calling. Gotta go__"

_"Wait__"_

"__talk to you later. "

He hangs up and tosses his phone onto the nightstand with a groan. He's dreaming, right? Somebody wakes him the hell up already.

~~~~~

_Kyle Rayner, Art student, an Otaku nerd, a night owl with dark shaggy hair that has never seen a comb before; carries a stupid skateboard, is easily bribed by date bars (especially if there's cashews in them) daydreams of flying, enjoys listening to any crawling creatures who makes a sound while he draws, sucks at philosophy, wears jeans and denim five times of the week, a cat person and totally straight._

_Not like Jason's ever caught him sucking faces with anyone, but he knows he used to have something for Donna. And now he has this; the nerd's casually talking with that pretty waitress like a black coffee with no sugar and milk is the most fascinating topic kids these days discuss. Huh, and here he thought it was the pickle Rick. He had it all wrong._

_"So, she you're special lady friend or what? " he nudges his chin toward Jade as she works with the coffee machine behind the counter._

_Kyle turns his head back to follow his line of sight. "Who, Jade? " he laughs it off and shakes his head. "Dude, she's like, in a couple of my classes. She's cool and everything, but I'm not into her like that. "_

_He shrugs, "your loss. She's pretty hot. "_

_Kyle crooks an eyebrow. "What? You like her? " he leans back on his chair, wearing a dumb_smug expression. "I can be your wingman if you want. "_

_"That sounds fabulous, " he says dryly. "Makes me wonder, why an expert like yourself is still single? "He takes a sip from his coffee, and no, he's not a little scared of the answer he'd receive. Not him, nope, fuck you._

 _"You could say I'm still looking for that special person, I guess, " he winks at Jason, that son of a___

_See? THIS, this is why he keeps coming back to that shitty cafe, why he sits through Rayner's bullshits in 6AM, and why he isn't over his stupid_ass crush yet._

_He thought once high school was over it'd be fine, that embarrassing warmth in his chest would finally fizzle out and he'd be free to go on and never develop feelings for anyone again, because feelings are the worst. And maybe if it wasn't because of their shared friends, the fact that they got accepted in the same university, and a downfall obsession called social media, he could've buried Kyle in his high school memory._

_That and Kyle's attitude right here. His ability to deal with Jason's sarcasm, his everlasting anger, and his dry sense of humor face on and throw equal jabs back like_ "You self_righteous bastard. Come here, I'll kick your ass. "

_Jason is a bit screwed up in the head? He's gotten problems after problems? Call it whatever they want, but he's still that little boy who wanted the same desk Kyle picked._

_"But he's probably a jerk, y'know, " Kyle says, pulling him out of his cloud of thought. "I mean, I'm right here, you asshole. Come and find me." He laughs and shakes his head as if disappointed._

_Wait a second._

_"He? "_

_"He, she, whatever, " Kyle says._

_Well, dang. He should've asked Dick to be more specific when he said most of their friends were either L or G or B or T or just fucking kill him already!_

~~~~~

Kyle has noticed. How can he not? Jason's gotten taller, in fact, he even surpassed Kyle in that matter. He's gotten bigger, more intimidating, more sarcastic, and more handsome. A _lot_ more handsome actually. So damn dazzling it makes him dizzy to stare at him for longer than three seconds.

Maturity hit Jason like a lightening, and in such a short amount of time. Like, he completely took being a nerd to a whole new level of awesomeness.

So, never in the twenty some years of his life has he ever sported the thought that Jason Todd of all people would confess to him.

_"Yeah, yeah. I like you, too. "_

At first he wanted to call bullshit, _because you gotta be kidding me,_ but he knows better. He's not stupid, he's not blind. Jason lives in a manor for god's sake, his dad could probably buy the whole Starbucks, and he detests coffee more than finding a hair in his food would disturb him. So, why did he bother coming to a coffee shop where the said man couldn't even shut his mouth for a whole hour about how godawful nasty those drinks were?

GOD! He can't even bring himself to _assume_ the reason is anything remotely related to him, let alone . . . 

Then again, Jason was drunk out of his mind when he admitted his feelings . . . 

But Kyle can't let go, he can't sooth the turmoil inside of him right now. It makes a little more sense once he realizes what's going on. How easy it is to be around Jason despite all the bickering, how comfortable he feels just existing near him, how much he craves his company when they're too busy to hang out much.

It makes sense now.

~~~~~

_"Can't believe you're still undecided, " Kyle says._

_They're in Jason's room. Kyle's sprawled on the bed with his philosophy notes held above his head. Jason's sitting at the foot of the bed with his back to Kyle, looking over the sketches of his new characters. There's Hal Jordan, John Stewart, Arisa, Ganthet and others._

_"Bruce wants me to do business, " Jason replies._

_"Isn't that why you have Tim around? "_

 _"He's got his dad's legacy to carry on or some shit like that. "_

_"What about Dick?" He props on his elbow, "he's the oldest. "_

_Jason flips a page. "He doesn't have the guts. "_

_"And Bruce thinks you do? "_

_"I won't be offended if you take it back in the next five minutes, " Jason says pretty seriously._

_Kyle snorts. "It sounds tough, but learn to accept the the fact that you suck at something, you loser. I know, it's crazy, but just think about it. "_

_"I can break all your bones in 40 seconds." Kyle can't see, but Jason's probably grinding._

_"Oh wow, you can't tell, but really, I'm pissing all over your hair in fear, " he's smiling too._

_"Weirdo. "_

_"Jerk. "_

_Kyle has to bite his lips to keep the laughter threatening to escape his throat. In all honesty, he doesn't mind bickering with Jason at all. He can't pin-point the precise moment he realized it, but what's surreal is that he never really minded Jason's sass._

_There's a moment of silence before Kyle speaks up again._

_"Look, you're underestimating Bruce a little, "Jason gives him a look over his shoulder. "He isn't going to judge you because you have different opinions. "_

_When there's no responds from Jason he returns to lying on his back. "If you ask me I'd say Bruce is just an excuse. You're the one who can't decide. "_

 _Kyle would know. There's a line with knowing better but not doing anything about it. He was always full of colors, but he didn't know how to color his own life: hence why he created a universe which weaponed colorful lights. Jason is no different, he needs all the push he could get.  
_

_"You probably won't be hearing it from anyone, but since I'm_ that _friend who gets so much of your shit I'll say it to your face, " he blinks at the ceiling and with a small voice say. "You need to grow up. I know, " he laughs softly, "it sucks, but that's half the reason why you always give Tim such a hard time. He's so much younger and already has his life figured. "_

_There is a pause where Kyle waits for Jason's usual jab of sarcasm to be thrown at his face, or maybe just a simple punch, a fatal glare at least? Anything. But he gets none._

_"It's time for the bird to leave its nest, " he murmurs._

_Yeah that one is surely going to rise a laugh out of him._

_But Jason only huffs and rests his head back on the bed. Kyle has an obnoxious urge to run his fingers through his locks and, okay, that's weird, it's_ Jason, _come on Kyle, don't be that creep._

_Jason declares his major within the next few days. English literature. As expected, Bruce and the rest of his family and friends were super proud of that angry bird who flushed red and told them all to fuck off while not meaning it one bit_

_~~~~~_

Jason is done, he's _so_ done playing this exhausting game of _'I'm too emotionally stunted to deal with my obvious feelings'._

He can hear Roy's nonchalant voice in his head too. _"Isn't it getting old by now? "_

He knows, he _knows_ the universe isn't fucking with him anymore. Just like how he knows why he doesn't really hate Kyle, why he keeps going to that cafe at that godforsaken hour, or bears drinking that shit excuse of a coffee, or why he would've confessed to Kyle at some point drunk or not.

Once there was a desk, and there was Kyle Rayner, an urge to pick a fight with him, Donna Troy, their university, Dick's big chunk of friends, social media, Vodka, Roy _the voice of reason_ Harper, superheroes in green (and now much better black) spandex, and lots _lots_ of cheap, shitty coffee. The universe was trying to tell him something, and yeah, he's not a dumbass, thank so fucking much.

Kyle's sitting there at their usual spot in the left corner booth, sketchbook open before him, skateboard beside the table on the floor, black All_Stars, jeans, white t_shirt, soft lips chewing slowly at the end of his pencil, smell of cheap burnt coffee in the air, just what he needed.

Kyle is a bit different today. He notes tense muscles, nervous laughs, constant tab of his foot. Jason's kind of relieved he's not alone in feeling so frustrated.

"Listen to this one, " Kyle puts his notebook before himself. "In brightest day in blackest night, no evil shall escape my sight. Let those who worship evil's might beware my powers, Green Lantern light. "

He takes a moment to let the words sink in, and when they do, he can't deny the fact that he's frigging impressed. _Yo, Rayner. You finally did it._

"Not bad. I can see that one working just fine."

Kyle lets out a breath which then turns into a laugh. "For real?" he asks doubtfully. 

"Yep, " Jason says, popping the 'p' obnoxiously before taking a small sip of his coffee. _No mocking this time around._ Kyle's smile only grows bigger.

"Say Rayner, " he says out of nowhere. "You wanna grab real coffee sometimes, maybe?"

Kyle looks up, a little taken aback indeed. "Uh, yeah, sure. "

"Like__ just the two of us. "

"Y_yeah. "

"Like__ a date, " because he needs to make his point crossed 100 percent.

"Uh ha. "

"Kay, cool, " he nods his head.

~~~~~

Ps.

"The one time I count on your emotional constipation and you let me down, Jason, " Artemis grumbles as she pulls out her wallet and very reluctantly puts a fifty on Roy's palm.

"About time our Jaybird put his shit together," Roy says with a shit_eating grin to which everyone else nod in agreement.

Jason hates all his goddamn friends (okay, maybe just a little)

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed it. It's been a while since I've last written anything, so feel free to point out any mistakes here.
> 
> Man, I had so much fun writing it. Let me know what you guys think about it ;)


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